Killers Kiss

Stanley Kubrick's second feature film, Killer's Kiss, made the world take notice. The young moviemaker won acclaim for this dazzling film noir about a struggling New York boxer (Jamie Smith) whose life is imperiled when he protects a nightclub dancer (Irene Kane) from her gangster boss (Frank Silvera). 'Using his camera as a sandpaper block, Kubrick has stripped away the veneer from the prizefight and dancehall worlds,' the New York Mirror proclaimed. Killer's Kiss not only lends considerable insight into future Kubrick classics such as The Killing and Full Metal Jacketbut it is also a remarkable film in its own right: the boxing match may be the most vicious this side of Raging Bull, and the famed final battle remains an action tour-de-force.